There seems to be a little mistake in test taken... Although ASUS is the fastest ripper for protected CD games - I simply cannot mount or burn any CD image made with Alcohol 120%(Build : 1.9.2.1705). This drive is the fastest ripper anyway... but...

it cannot read 96 byte subchannel data and... creates invalid image files (or to be more specific - it seems to produce invalid media descriptor files). No matter disc is copy protected or not - any created CD image is invalid (unable to mount and/or burn)

No matter what disc I try to backup - whether it is original (pressed) or not - image file is invalid. I tried to make an image of Syberia 1 : The Game, Syberia 2 : The Game (both SafeDisk 2.6 protected?), Wing Commander Prophecy, Windows 98 Second Edition - not protected, pressed originals and various custom recorded media (mp3', data, jpeg, original backups) - all produced files were invalid.

Also it seems that there is a slight difference between the retail and OEM/bulk ASUS E616P2 firmwares. You can use the TDB patched firmware to update from OEM to Retail and then you probably can just use the retail firmware updates.

Brick_G thanks for your feedback, even we try to test in depth the drive, there could be special cases, where something is not tested, i think minos should try to contact ASUS about this problem, have you tried with other software like CloneCD or Blindwrite to see if this problem exists?

Sorry about the firmware question mate. I thought this was related to the problem people were having with DVDShrink and the E616P2.

As far as the OEM (really meant bulk and not the Pioneer DVD-122P), the E616P2 is available as both bulk and retail packaging. Some people have complained that the ASUS firmware updaters only worked on the retail ones. Since you didn't state your firmware version initially, I posted this since the TDB guys posted a workaround (link doesn't work though). Obviously it's reseller depenedent so just forget about it if it didn't apply to you.

Anyway... 1. Have you also slowed the reading speed down to 4x or even 1x? This is recommended when ripping the newer schemes like SafeDisc 3.x+ and SecuROM 4.8x+. 2. Also please answer Iggy's question regarding the copy protection scheme and what you're trying to backup. He's got an E616P2.

I just wanted to get known how exactly test look like? Whether images created are afterwards mounted / burned or simply checked for playability (with/without emulation). This seems to be an important issue aside from the ripping speed. I didn't meant checking compatibility with various software, but since Alcohol 120% was used for the test purpose it could have been checked - this seemed to me a logical consequence (but since I'm often using boolean logic - please don't take it personally )

Recently I've been contacted by a support staff of Alcohol Software (after submitting this problem), as instructed I additionaly tried installing device support update located here :

... I did so, although drive wasn't mentiond on the device list - reruned the test and got the same results. I've submitted full ripping process log and description of problem.

quote:

Hello,

I have passed this information on to our development team to see if they can throw any light onto the problem. Thank you for your Question concerning our Software.

Best Regards Paul Alcohol Soft Support Team

What I also did I send a notice to ASUStek Co. regarding the same issue. Since 15th of February it hasn't been yet answerd.

I eagerly await a solution to come :D

Iggy

I tried both Retail and Trial versions. As far as for their origin - I'm certain - both were genuinely Alcohol Software's. Once more: all created CD images (NOT DVD) were invalid no matter disc was original (pressed)/recorded, protected or not - no matter what the content was - Images were not valid.

The only type I haven't tested with Alcohol 120% was Audio CD - since I'm using EAC to rip audio.

> Whether images created are afterwards mounted / burned or simply checked for playability (with/without emulation). This seems to be an important issue aside from the ripping speed.

Sorry we only measure the ripping image, not mount/burn, so far we didn't had any problems with this, as minos said, CloneCD works OK, so its just a problem with Alchol 120% that its developers should solve.

Dear Customer, Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service. My name is Penny and I would be assisting you today.

For our Chinese new year holiday, I'm sorry to reply your letter so late. Sorry for any inconvenience that caused to you. I'm sorry that Optical Storage DVD-E616P2 can't support CD+G. Sorry for any inconvenience that caused to you.

If you have any problems, please let me know. Let's discuss this issue together. Thank you for using ASUS products and ! services!

Have a wonderful 2005!

Penny ASUS Customer Service Center (Shanghai) If you have any suggestions or complaints about our technical support service, please e-mail your valuable feedback to support@asus.com.cn. We will then arrange for a specialist to work on your issue. Your suggestions and feedback are most appreciated and allow us to serve you better.

I've checked the drive with Clone CD (the newest) 5.1.0.0. Images are mountable & burnable, but drive doesn't read 96 byte subchannel data - it seems it doesn't read it at all and generated file is filled with empty bytes (only with position marks). I've opened .SUB(channel) data file in WinHEX Editor and it seems to be just filled for the sake of the matter.

Odd thing is that Nero Info Tool report this drive is cabaple of reading CD+G (useful while retriving subchannels in Lybcrypt for instance), while Clone CD reports - it isn't.

Does it really?

How can this drive produce working images of protected games if it doesn't read properly (or at all) subchannels? Correct me if I'm wrong.